Hey guys! Sorry for this short one. I'm working on more chapters I promise!
Sasha sighed and looked at Jane. "Jane, she really needs to be in the hospital. They need to photograph these for evidence and-"
"NO! I'm not going to a hospital!" Maura screamed. "No, they will call Bryce and he will be furious. Please! Don't make me go back." Maura pulled the blanket tighter and curled into a ball as tight as her wounds would allow. The tears were falling like rain down her face. Jane gave Sasha an annoyed look by focused back on Maura.
"Okay, okay Maura. No hospital. I promise." Jane calmly stated. "But can Sasha look at the rest of your injuries please? We can get that pizza once were done here. And then we can watch a movie. How does that sound?"
Maura used the blanket to wipe her tears and nodded her head.
Jane and Sasha managed to keep Maura calm and address Maura's other injuries. They learned that Maura had a broken rib and mainly bruises littering her body. No more open wounds. They noted Maura's self-harm scars and when asked about it, Maura refused to look at either of them. They learned that Bryce liked to tie Maura to the bed when he wasn't home so she couldn't get away and when he forced her to have sex. They saw the amount of violence this poor girl had gone through.
Maura was exhausted, emotionally and physically. "You did so good, Maura." Jane smiled. "Let's get you some food, okay?"
Maura yawned, "Okay Jane."
"Maura, are you okay to walk?" Jane asked and helped Maura to her feet when she nodded. She looked exhausted. Jane took a step towards the door and Maura followed wobbling on shaky legs.
Maura pushed her body into Jane's front and didn't move. Jane turned her head to Sasha who was cleaning the remaining supplies, "Can you get the pizza started for me? I'm gonna carry her to the kitchen."
Sasha nodded wordlessly and left the room once it was clean.
Maura was half passed out standing up and nearly toppled over before Jane could scoop her up in her arms. All of her adrenaline was wearing off and she just wanted to sleep. "Come on pretty girl, lets get some food in you and then we can sleep." Jane barely noticed the small nod Maura gave her as she lifted her up and carried her to the kitchen. Maura's eyes were closed and her breath was hitting Janes neck. Jane just smiled and kept walking.
"Sasha can you pull the chair out for me?" Jane asked when she neared the kitchen. Sasha obliged and went back to getting the food ready.
Sasha grabbed the paper plates from the counter and pulled the pizza box out of the oven. The pizza had long gone cold by now so it needed to be heated up. Pulling 3 pieces out of the box, she put them in the toaster oven to heat them up.
Jane settled down in the chair Sasha pulled out for her and kept Maura on her lap. She shifter Maura up a little so she was sitting more upright. Jane rubbed her back trying to wake her up a little. Sasha just smiled at Jane and waited for the pizza to be heated up. She knew Jane was amazing with her people. She had to for her job. But it always made her heart warm when she got to see Jane in her element.
"Jane, Lucy called. She left a very explicit message. The short version is for you to call her." Sasha informed Jane and laughed at the look on her face.
"Thanks Sasha but I'm not gonna do that. I am done with her. I am back on the market and if she's upset with that then she shouldn't have been sleeping with her ex in my bed."
"She did not!"
"Oh yes she did! And I caught her in the act." Jane laughed. "I am not going back to that apartment again. I'm gonna call the landlord and let him know that I'm moving out. I'll get someone to go and grab my stuff. She can have the place."
Sasha just laughed and focused back at the toaster. She turned it off before the buzzer went off and plated each piece. She walked to the other cabinet and pulled a glass down. She poured Maura some water and grabbed herself and Jane a beer. She placed them on the granite countertop and reached back for the pizza and did the same thing.
"Thanks Sasha" Jane said around a mouth full of pizza. Sasha hummed in response. Looking at the plate sitting in front of her, Maura made no move to eat it.
"Maur, you really need to eat. Please try and eat as much as you can. For me, please?" Jane's voice was soft and soothing, making Maura more at ease. "Okay Jane." Maura said, looking down at the hot pizza. She couldn't remember the last time anyone got her food, let alone made it for herself. True, Jane only heated the pizza up from a few hours ago but it was still more than Bryce or her parents ever did for her.
Maura picked at the pizza, eating most of it before pushing the plate towards Jane. Jane smiled looking at the plate, pleased that Maura tried to eat everything.
"Jane, go get her in bed. She looks like she's gonna fall asleep right here and that's not going to be comfortable." Sasha pointed out. "I'll clean up this mess. The covers are already turned down for here."
"Thanks Sasha. Alright, ready for bed Maura?" Jane asked.
"Yeah" Maura responded sleepily. She snuggled her body into Janes and breathed out a heavy breath. Jane stood with Maura in her arms and walked towards the bedroom. She placed Maura down on the right side of the bed and moved to get up.
"Stay" Maura whimpered and her grip on Jane's shirt got tighter.
Jane sighed. "I will be right back, Maura. I have to talk to Sasha and then I'll be right back. I promise."
Maura nodded and let go. "How about I lay with you for a few minutes until you fall sleep?" Jane asked and Maura nodded with a small smile on her face. Jane pulled the covers over Maura's body and laid down on her other side. Maura snuggled close to Jane. Jane played with Maura's hair and felt her relax.
Once she was sure Maura had fallen asleep, she slowly got out of the bed. She walked towards the door where Sasha was waiting for her and together, they walked out of the room. Jane slowly closed the door and sighed.
"Jane, she is severely dehydrated and malnourished. It's gonna be a long road ahead for you and her. You really need to take her to the station and get this guy arrested." Sasha started.
"I know, I know Sash. I will handle all of the when its not 3 am. She needs to sleep. You saw her practically falling asleep while eating the pizza."
"I'm gonna write her a few prescriptions. One's an antibiotic for the small infection. The other two are just regular pain meds. I am also leaving you with a small sedative." Sasha stated while she pulled out her prescription pad.
"Come on Sasha, I thought it was going to be a one-time thing. I don't want to keep her drugged up. What if that's what Bryce did? I don't want her to think of me like that monster" Jane objected.
"Jane, it's gonna be one of the only ways that she heals. She needs a lot of rest. And if she's going to keep having these small panic attacks there are chances that she will pull her stitches out again and not heal properly. Its this or you taking her to the hospital. Your choice."
Jane grumbled. She hated when Sasha was right. "Alright, fine." She gave in.
"You don't have to give it to her all the time. Just try to give it to her if you can't calm her down and probably at night."
RI
"Maura, sweetie, wake up for me. That's it, come on, open those pretty hazel eyes." A soft voice and a gently caress through her soft honey blonde hair attacked her senses. She recognized the voice but was afraid to open her eyes. The fear that all of this was a dream and that Bryce was just roaming around the corner frightened her to no end. "Oh sweetie," the voice tried again, "please wake up for me. Come on baby." There was a soft lone finger leaving a tickling trail from her forehead down her perfect ski slope nose making her wrinkle her nose and show a shy, sleepy smile. Slowly opening her eyes, she noticed the pain that used to come from her right eye had vanished, slowly she raised her hand up to feel for swelling and her hand made contact with smooth, perfect skin. "Darling, look at me. I've missed you, pretty girl." The voice guided her eyes up to meet deep chocolate orbs. Smiling widely, she realized that she recognized those kind and soft eyes.
"Jane" she breathed out.
A gentle hand came up to caress her cheek. Leaning into the caress her eyes closed. The hand guided her face to soft lips that ghosted over hers, making her breath hitch. Pulling back softly from the kiss, keeping her eyes closed she smiled.
Slowly opening her eyes again, she stared at Jane's face. Horror graced the once soft and calm features as she saw the once loving brown eyes turn ice cold gray. The gentle face turned into one of evil. Pain radiated from her right eye all down her body. Suddenly she wasn't free. Her arms were restrained over her head. Blood dripped down into her mouth from a cut on her left cheek bone. She wanted to cry and scream for help, but she knew if she did it would only make the pain worse.
"Maura, Maura, Maura. When are you ever going to realize that I always win? You may think you're smart but you're not. Stupid Maura never went to college. She'll never become a medical examiner." He taunted her. Tears welled up in her eyes. She prayed that they wouldn't fall because if they did, there would be so much more pain. "Did you seriously think that you could outsmart me? Go to the police behind my back? Maura, they worship me over there. You're nothing."
Untying her, Bryce grabbed her hair. She whimpered at the pain radiating down her scalp. She couldn't tell where she was going. The hallway was pitch black and seemed to be getting longer. Suddenly, a door opened on the right-hand side and she was thrown to the ground into the room. Looking up, Bryce stood over her.
"You're a worthless piece of trash. And you need to be taught a lesson." he said in what seem to be the calmest and most rational voice she ever heard from him. Trying to sit up, Bryce quickly sent a swift kick to her ribs knocking her over. He relentlessly kept kicking until he heard a satisfying crack. She couldn't keep the tears or cries at bay. Curling into a ball, she tried to plead with him, "Bryce, please stop! Please!" she screamed, "I won't tell anyone. Please! It hurts so bad please!" They did nothing except spur Bryce on as he straddled her side winding up for a solid punch…
"NO!"
RI
Jane started waking up when she heard whimpering. Opening her eyes, she looked right to Maura, noticing the sweat accumulating on her face. She was crying and whispering, "Bryce please stop!" "Maura?" Jane whispered, trying to calm her down and get her out of the nightmare, but it didn't work. Maura continue to grow louder with her cries, tears running down her face, mixing with the sweat that matted her hair to her forehead and neck. Rolling onto her side, Jane reached across to brush the hair off of Maura face, whispering sweet words of encouragement for Maura to wake up and that "everything will be okay". When her fingertips made contact, Maura jumped.
Fully wake, Maura couldn't get her breathing under control. Eyes as wide as her black right eye would allow, she felt trapped. The blanket was wrapped around her so tight that she couldn't free her hands. Looking towards her left she noticed a shadow reaching out and screamed, "No, no Bryce please." The hand gently tried to continue to wipe her hair away from her face. Maura missed the whispering that the figure was doing. Slowly, Jane sat up on her knees and came into Maura's field of view. "Shh…. Pretty girl. You're safe. I promise you." Jane whispered. She heard Maura whimper and sniffle, "Shh, no more of that. I've got you; I've got you. He won't hurt you anymore." Calming down, Maura listened to Jane's breathing. After a minute she was able to free her hands from under the blanket and rolled closer to Jane. Jane lowered herself back onto her back and but her right arm around Maura, encouraging her to rest her head on her chest. Her hand came up to tightly fist Jane's shirt involuntary. Maura did as she was told, letting Jane's heart beat lull her back to a dreamless sleep.
Jane looked down at Maura. Taking a real good look at her she finally noticed how young she was. Her features were still soft and innocent. Whoever this Bryce guy was stole Maura's life from her. Her innocence, her freedom. Hell, she couldn't even escape him in her dreams. Maura was a survivor. She was able to finally have freedom. Though this new freedom came with a cost, Jane vowed to help her. Help her navigate her life and finally get the life that she really deserved back. Taking one good look at the sleeping Maura, Jane sighed and tried to get to sleep. She didn't know what tomorrow had in store for them.